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The Department of Veterans Affairs is issuing new rules intended to help veterans in remote areas better access health care. Grants will be given to state-level veterans' agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide transportation for those in need of medical care.

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Veterans are still waiting a long time for care at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, which was at the center of the VA wait-time scandal in 2014, according to a report by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. "It's clear veterans are still dying while waiting for care, that delays may have contributed to the recent death of at least one veteran and the work environment in Phoenix is marred by confusion and dysfunction," said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

The recently enacted $16.3 billion law to implement changes in the Veterans Affairs Department's health care system also is intended to push colleges to reduce tuition costs for veterans. The law forbids colleges from receiving VA education assistance if veterans' tuition is higher than in-state rates.

Research has yet to confirm that Gulf War veterans are experiencing higher rates of cancer because of their military service, the Department of Veterans Affairs says. Lawmakers are seeking to have the VA classify brain cancer, lung cancer and migraines as presumptive conditions for Gulf War vets, which could help veterans diagnosed with these conditions receive benefits.

An initiative being phased in by the Department of Veterans Affairs over the next six months aims to improve veterans' access to civilian mental health and medical specialists. Under the initiative, Health Net Federal Services and TriWest Healthcare Alliance will create non-VA provider networks across the six VA medical regions.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, would like veterans to be able to look beyond VA hospitals to the Tricare network of service providers for timely access to mental health care. Miller believes increasing the availability of providers could help combat the rising number of veteran suicides.